Apparatus for screwing well-casing.



No. 883,630. PATENTED MAIL 31, 1908. W. L. DUNN.

APPARATUS FOR SGBBWING WELL OASING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTJU. 1907.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

ZL-"Y- rah-3395': 971/ Z-ar No. 883,630. PATENTED MAR. 31, 1908. w. L. DUNN.

APPARATUS FOR SGREWING WELL CASING.

APPLIOATIO N FILED SEPT. 19. 1907.

2 sums-sum 2Q WILLIAM L. DUNN,- OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR SGREWING WELL-GASING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 31, 1908.

Application filed September 19,-1907. Serial No. 898,742.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM LINCOLN DUNN; a citizen of-the United States, formerly residing in Orcutt, in thecounty of Santa Barbara and State of California, now

residin on the VVest-ern Union Oil Companys case on the Careaga rancho,-1n said county and State, have Invented a new and useful Apparatus for Screwing Well-Casing,

of which t e following is a specification.

An object of this invention is to provide practical and convenient means for screwing and unscrewing well-casing without liability of injury to the same.

This invention includes a well-casing wrench comprising two jaw members adapted to ractically encircle the casing, and-- means or clamping said jaw members toether in such manner as to engage the easmg so ti htly as to prevent any possible slippage between the casing and the jaw members on the operative stroke of the hairdle of the wrench. v

Further objects of the invention are:

rapid and, convenient operation of the wrench by motive .ower; positive and immediate clamping o the casing to turn the same on the operative stroke, and ready and immediate releasing of the casing out e re turn stroke of the wrench; ease of adjustment to and. removal from the casing; ready reversal of the wrench from the screwin tothe unscrewing position; ready adjustability to different-sued Well casings; che'apness, simplicity, and stren t-h of construction-Headyassembling and isassembling of parts, and ready removal and replacement of parts'in case. of breakage,

Another ob ect is to provide a casingwrench in which the ,appl-icatic m of the power to clamp the jaw members on the eas In is effected through antifriction means.

' 0 far as I am aware, there has not heretofore been provided any casing-wrench in which'it is possible to clamp the gripping members of thewrench on t e casing with sufficient force to prevent slippage without the intervention of dies, teeth, serrations, or other forms of roughened surface to cut into the casing to revent slippage.

object 0 this invention is to providea casing-wrench in which the gripping faces that engage the casin are as'smooth as, or

smoother than the sur ace of the casing to be gripped, dispensin entirely with the necesmight cut into or abrade the surface of the GBISIIIg.

In practlcal use, wrenches provided with dies, teeth, or, cutting edges are unsatisfac-- tory; said teeth, dies, or cuttin edges being a source of constant troublean expense for the reason that they become dull and require sharpening and are a seat of weakness, being very subject to breakage, and thereby causing' much loss of time. i

An object of this invention isto absolutely do away with all of the objections aboveenumerated. I

The wrench may be used as a pipe-wrench, but is more articularly designed for screw- .up such arge pipe as is used as casingin 0' -Wells, which pipes stand perpendicularly and have to be screwed up very ti ht. wrench is purely a friction wrenc with respect to its grip upon the pipe to beturned,

but is antifrlction as regards the application of the power for drawing the gripping faces toward each other to grip the pipe;

For the purpose of operatin the wrench With'the greatest efficiency an least loss of power through friction, an antifriction roller operable by a lever that is pivoted to onegripping member, is provided to en age a nose on another ping members v This ipping member, sai gripeln inged together to practically encircle t e pi e to be turned.

ing home of the casing. The workmen usually start a casin and screw it home as tightly as possible y meansof a hand-spike caught in a loop of rope twisted around the casing. By thls means the workmen are able to screw the casing down by pushin the hand-spike aroundin the manner 0 turning a capstan. The labor of thus screwing the casing home is so great as to usually require the service of two or four men to st the same tight enough to be economical y.:handled by the casing wrenches heretofore known.

An object of. my invention is to make a omitted.

page.

he accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmental perspective view showing the casin -screwing apparatus as applied in practice use on a medium-sized casing. Fig. 2 is a fragmental view of the casingfwrench shown in Fi 1 swung free from the casing. .The bushings that are in use in Fig. .1 are shown removed from the gripping members in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the wrench open to be swung onto the casing. The suspension chains are Fig. 4 is a plan showin the Wrench with the parts in released or. "ackstroke position, the; slack and clearari'ce being exaggerated in order to make the same noticeable. Fig. 5 is an-elevation of the wrench in place on a well-casing, a fragment of which is shown. Fig. 6 is a sectlon on line :0", Fig.1 5, Fig. 7 is a view of the head or pivoted end of the lever, one of the cheek pieces ofsaid head being removed, Fig. 8 1s a view ..of the inside face of one of the cheeks of the head. Fi 9 is a view of-the ig. 10' is a perspec tive edge view of one of the cheeks. is an end view of'one'of the cheeks.

outside bf the check.

1 and2 are the grippingmembers hinged together at 3 and a'da ted to practically en'- circle the casingto these gripping members has a as, 5, respectively, the same pp s c emg prefers ably-adapted'to receive bushings, as 6, 7 to" adapt the same grippingmembers' to Efit various smaller. sizes of well-casing. Said bushings ma be constructed in pairs of du plicates, an may be fastened to the ;grip-' in members by any suitable means, as by.

eat 'ers 8-in notches-9 iandjb "set screwslOi .111 is a-lever or handle]; or the wrench; which preferably comprises ahead 12 anddetachable handlebar-13.- The back grip-- ping member 1 is Ipreferablyic'lonstructed n being pivoted at one end e'front gripping member; 2 by a .bolt'3;

two }parts, a, b, eac to t and being provided attheother'endgwith an extension 15, between which extensions the head 12 of the, lever'handle l l-i's pivoted by a bolt 23.]

Th head -l2 is rovided with ta g 17 es and with an anti ictionroller 18 spaced movement of'the bar 13 on the has e screwed. Each of" of the casingin-the welli 1 20 of the front gripping face 2. Said head is preferably formed of two members which I term cheeks, each of which is rovided with a tang 17, and between which cheeks the roller 18'is pivoted by a bolt 21. Said cheeks are each provided with a recess 22 to fit the end of the handle-bar 13' which is thereby rigidl held when the checks are fastened to'get er by means of the pivot bolt 23 and the extensions 24 which areprovided on the back gripping member 1 for the pur pose of pivotally connecting the bar 13 with said back gripping member.-

The cheeks are complementary to each other, and each is provided on its outer face with a recess 25 to receive the end of the extension 24 which pivotally engages such cheek. The walls 26, 27 of said recess are arranged to form stops to limit the pivotal P' plng member 1.

28 is a flexible connection, referably a chain fastened to the head of tiie lever and adapted-to engage a retaining'lug 29 on the front gripping member 2' to limit the releasing-.movement of said grippingmember on the back-stroke ofthe wrench. Thenose 20 of the front grippingv member 2- is tangentially arranged to receive'pressure from the roller 18'to draw the front gri-pping 'member '2"to ward the-back gri ing member lupona forward movement 0 lil're free end of'the bar 1.3 when the wrench is applied to a well-cas- 'ingya'nd aeonnection 28- in rac-tical'u'sewill be given enough slack'to a ow'the' bar to swing on the pivot 23 at the backstroke of the wrench sufficiently to"'slightly open the space between the grippingmembers, but not sufficient-to. allow the noser20 to be withdrawn from the recess-19 between the ztan 17 and theroller 18, so thatimmediate y upon the succeedingforwardvstroke' of v the 'wrench, caused by application? of-fpow'er to free end of the bar 1-3 While'the wrench is 'on the-casing, the antifriction' roller 18 will immediately force the nose. toward the ex tensions 24 of the "back" gripping member, thereby closing the grip ing 'inemb'ers' 'u on the. casing; .Theleverage thus 'elfcted is such that the gripping faces even though polished where they contact with the casing, will produce such a friction on the casing as to prevent 'an slipping betw en the gripping faces andthe casing, so that as'the free end. of-th'e' b'ar 13' swings forward the; casing fmu'st' tur'n's '-The grip on the-casing increases as .the power necessary to turn thecasin increases, so that 'thereis no liability of slip page from beginning to end pf the operation of screwing the casi'n "home.

3-0-d'esignates the' oose casnigqoinit to be scr'ewedinto the collar 3 1-011 the upper end 32 designates theusual-elevatois I 33 designates suspension chains fastened to pins 34 in the bar 13. I,

35 is the crank of the band-wheel. of the Well-rig.

36- is a jerk-line caught in a notch 37 in the rear side of thebar 13 and connecting the free end of the lever with the crank 35 for the application of power to operate the caughtinto the suspension chains or swing- 33, thus. to readily move the wrench as may be required. v

It is to be understood .without'illustration, thatin startingthe Well, pipe-tongs may be reciuired, as usual heretofore, to hold the we I I-casing While the. joint 30 is being screwed thereinto. In the drawin s it is assumedthat the casin has reac ed such depth in the well that t e friction thereon is suificient to prevent the casing from rotating in the well with anypower that may be necessary to. screw the casing home. The

workmen will first start the casing-joint 30 in the collar .31 in the usual way, turning the .same by hand until the threads take hold.

1 They may then immediately bring the grip- .29 at such point as to hold-the nose 20' of ping members m place on the joint'30 and shutthe grippin ,member 2, so as to bring the nose 20 into t e recess 19, whereupon the lever 11 will be swung forward to lock the nose in said'reccss, and then the slack con-- 0 lu 2:)

nection 28 will be caught on the retainin l t 1e front gripping member 2 from 'swin ing'out of the recess '19. Then the loop of t e takeup connection 38 willbe caught over the free end of the lever 11 to cause the weight to draw the lever backward, and the ends of the jerk line 36 will be respectively brought over the free end of the lever and caught into the notch 37, and. over the wrist-pin 44 of the crank 35, and thereupon the apparatus is ready for operation. Then'the engine will be started and as the crank 35 rotates, it swings the free end of the wrench lever forward and allows. the weight 40 to return it backward once at each complete revolution. At each-forward stroke of the wrench the antifriction roller 18, acting onthe nose 20 automatically forces" the gri ping faces toward each other, and at the hack stroke the tangs 17 acting on the nose 20 force the gripping faces from each other, so that the successive automatic closing ando-peuing of the wrench is effected and the casing joint'or section 30 is gripped and turned at each forward movement and is instantaneously released at each backward movement of the lever, thus rapidly and forcibly screwing the casing home. The s eed at which the joint 30 may be screwed home isthusmade dependent upon thcrapidity of the rotation.

and the length of stroke of the crank. When the workman notes bythe strains on the erk line that the casing is nearly screwed home,

he will slowdown the engine, so that the final screwing home may be accomplished Without undue strains.

To unscrew the casing the wrench will -be reversed endwise to bring the bar 13 on the reverse side of the casing, the rear"gripping member being still'kept at-the back away from the crank which will again be connected with the bar as before, and the take-up device being again connected with the bar, the

engine 'will be set in motion to apply the power to the wrench as before, thus causing the casing: to turn in the direction opposite to that first described;

1. A wrench provided with means for auto,-

matically opening and closing the gripping members thereof, means to suspend the wrench, a powercrank, a jerk'line connecting the crank withthe wrench to close the grippingmembers and turn the wrench in one direction, and a take up connected with the" wrench toopen the wrench and turn it in the other direction; I 2. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, one of said members-being provided with a nose, a lever pivoted to the other member and provided with m'eans to engage the nose to open and -close-= said members, and -meansto preventthe withdrawal of the nose from operative position.

3. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, one of said membersbe ng provided with a nose and the other an extension, a lever pivoted to the extension and provided with a recess to receive the nose and adapted to operate u on the nose to force the gripping mem ers toward each other. a

4. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, one of said members being provided with a nose and a lever pivoted to the other gripping member and provided with antifriction means to engage the nose to close the gripping members.

5. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, one of sald members being provided with a nose, a lever pivoted to the other of said members, and a roller on said lever to engage the nose.

6. A Wrench comprising two gripping members provided with a semi-circular gripping face and hinged together, one of said members being provided with a nose, a lever pivoted to the other of said members and provided with a tang and a roller, spaced apart to receive thenose, said roller being adapted to engage the nose to force the grip ping members toward each other, and a tang being adapted to force the gripping members apart.

7. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, one being provided with a nose and with a retaining lug, a lever pivoted to the other grippingmembers and provided with means to engage the nose to open and close the gripping members, and a flexible stay to detachably connect the lever with the retaining lug.

8. A wrench comprising two members hinged together, a lever pivotet to one of said gripping members and adapted to engage the other gripping member to open and close the wrench, means to limit the pivotal movement of the lever on its gripping member, and means to connect the ever with the other gripping member. to limit the openingmovement of said other member.

9. A wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, a lever pivoted to one of said members and provided with antifriction means to close the other member,

gripping and means to temporarily, limit the opening movement of the other lever.

10. A Wrench comprising two gripping members hinged together, two recessed cheek members, each provided with a tang, a bar in the recesses of said cheek members, a roller pivoted between the-cheek members, a recess being formed between said roller and said tangs, a. pivoted bolt connecting the cheek members and bar with one of said gripping members, the other of said griping members being provided with a nose to e engaged by said roller and tangs.

1].. A wrench comprising two grip ing members hinged together, two recessed c eek members, each )rovided with a tang, a barin the recesses 0 said check members, a roller pivoted'between the cheek members, a recess being formed between said roller and said tang-s, a pivoted bolt connecting the cheek members and bar with one of said gripping members, the other of said gripping members being provided with a nose to be engaged b said roller and tangs, and a detachable flexible connection between the bar and said other gripping member.

12. In a casing Wrench provided with gripping members hinged together and having semi-circular gripping faces, bushings detachably connected with said faces and having semi-circular gri ping faces, a lever pivotally connected with one of said gripping members and provided with means for automatically moving the other gripping member to open and close the wrench.

13. A wrench comprising a gripping member, another gripping member hinged thereto and composed of two pieces, a lever pivotally connected between said two pieces and provided, with means'for moving the other gripping member to open and close the wrench, and means to retain the other gripping-member in'position to be engaged by said lever.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 23dv day of August, 1907.

WILLIAM L. DUNN.

In presence of- JAMES R. TOWNSEND, JULIA TOWNSEND. 

